Adventures in finding Surplus Ammunition AKA The GOOD, the BAD, and the Ugly
First, I would like to thank all who PM'ed me with leads or where to get surplus ammo; this is one of the great things about this forum; all the members help each other.
In anticipation of purchasing a Nagant 1895 Revolver, I went search for surplus ammo to load and fire in it. I only needed between 200 and 250 rounds because the Nagant revolver is not really something I bought to shoot regularly, I am just intrigued by the design and the novelty of its gas sealing action. I was looking for the ammo by the box. SPAM cans would contain more ammunition and cost near the price of the revolver itself.
After a bit of searching and Google search line optimization NAGANT ammo OR ammunition OR 38 OR surplus -Mosin -Prvi -Fiocchi -Discussion -out-of-stock in the last year
I found a vendor that, because of the events in the posting below, I don’t think I would have found otherwise.
JB Tactical (jbtactical.us) out of Orlando, Florida. Not only did JB Tactical have the NAGANT 7.62x38R surplus at a what I consider a fair and reasonable price, but they also had other military surplus ammunition I needed like the Romainian Tokarev 7.62x25, T291 Frankford Arsenal 30-06 Match (1957), and 303 MK VIII Spennymore WWII Production. ALL at FANTASTIC prices.
They had ZERO issues selling and shipping ammunition to me in California as a Type 3 FFL / COE holder. JB Tactical was easy to deal with, super responsive by email, and offers $14.95 flat rate shipping. As a matter of the ammunition was shipped UPS the same day! Which is incredible in the world today under COVID-19; I ordered Prvi Partizan Match 8mm Mauser and Sellier & Bellot 7.62x25mm March 23, 2020 from Target Sports USA and still haven't got it.
I have no ties to this company other than being a new customer, and I think it's worth y’all taking a look at their offerings, it's hard to find good MILSURP ammunition vendors for our hobby and passion.
But on to my adventure;
Before Thursday 23 April 2020, Californias we banned for ordering online, but because I hold a Type 3 FFL and California Certificate of Eligibility (COE), I am exempt from that section of Prop 63.
A quick web search turned up a few places, most being in the .40 to .53 cents U.S. per round. I ended up at the web site of a vendor I have used in the past who I did not know carried surplus ammo. They are a large reloading vendor who touts themselves as “The Reloading Authority.”
I'll tell you right now; they have lost me as a customer forever, how a firearm supplies/ammo vendor will not support our firearm community is beyond me and totally unacceptable. If it was because they just don't understand the laws, well shame on them for not taking the time to learn.
Because there are still those vendors that will not ship to California, due to the whacked-out firearm laws in this state, I sent them the following email.
"I hold a type 3 FFL (C&R) and a Californa COE. These two documents allow me to order ammunition online and have it shipped to California to the address on the FFL. Does XXXX & XXX’s, Inc. ship ammunition to people like me in Califonia? "
I was told they would but I needed my Type 3, COE, and an Ammunition Certificate. I told them that the ammunition certificate for sales and transfer of a firearm and not applicable to me as a collector. They refused and finely told me;
"We deal directly with 01 FFL holders on ammo purchases."
So I asked a Type 1 FFL with a COE and ammunition certificate to order it for me (which I have to pay a transfer fee), and when she called to order on my behalf, then they refused to sell it to her stating "That is a third party order." and not allowed.
This was baffling! I don't understand how this is different than buying a gun online and having it shipped to my FFL. If the Type 1 FFL ordered the ammunition, once received by the FFL, I would go through another background check, pay their transfer fees, and be delivered the ammunition.
As luck would have it, on Thursday 23 April 2020, the California Rifle and Pistol Association (of whom I’m a proud member) won an injunction (Rhode v. Becerra California’s Prop 63 ammunition sales restrictions ) against the state that prevents California from enforcing the law while the case continues to be litigated.
I was hoping that by sending the self-proclaimed reloading authority the CPRA news release and information they would now ship to me, their answer was,
"We will still be shipping to only licensed dealers [in California]. They will have to place the order with us and we will ship directly to them."
Which my FFL tried and was denied.
This was nothing more than just plain ignorance and lack of any willingness to look at the laws. But worse of all, my original question was a YES or NO question, and all the had to do is say “No” instead, they chose to string me and the Type 1 FFL around. It was apparent in the end they had no intention of shipping to California.
There always seems to be a silver lining to a story, doesn't there?
In the end, because of their blissful ignorance and stupidity, they did me a favor. I found JB Tactical, who for some reason, Google has buried deep in their search engine.
